Addicted to Drama

While it may be true that all the world is a stage if you constantly feel the need to be front and center you are most likely always in crisis. A person who is addicted to drama is usually seeking out the intoxicating effect of attention. Everyone loves attention. We all crave our fifteen minutes of fame but what happens when fifteen minutes is not enough? For some people the only way to stay in the spotlight is to create drama. A crisis is a sure fire way to promote drama and gain attention. A drama queen will never walk around or go over a molehill in life. Each one will be exploited until it reaches mountainous proportions in order for her to get her fix. In order for the fix to satisfy the attention craving on any given day it has to meet certain criteria. The top five criteria usually include the following and involve either the drama addict or a person close to them.

1. Illness

2. Death

3. Scandal

4. Betrayal

5. Victimization

Hypochondria versus Illness

The drama addict very often has a real chronic illness. Many of these illnesses are not fatal and quite manageable. However, they may be used to gain sympathy and attention. Each symptom, although troublesome may be blown up out of proportion and over exaggerated. Bordering on hypochondria a drama addict quite often has an arsenal of medication in her cabinet. It is very difficult for medical professionals and family members to debunk certain symptoms. The most commonly exploited symptoms for attention are headaches, stomach ailments, bowel disorders and pain. Although a myriad of medical testing may be performed it is quite common for the results to be inconclusive. In this event the person who is addicted to attention may resort to berating her medical care and accuse the physicians as being incompetent. Doctor shopping and medical facility hopping is standard. As the drama addict attains more specialized care in well known facilities the attention factor grows and soothes the attention itch temporarily.

Obituaries R Us

If you are in close contact with a drama queen you need never read the local obituaries. If you are curious about who died recently the overly dramatic will have all the information. They can tell you who died, what they died from, how they personally knew the deceased or how their cousins, step uncle's brother knew them. The person that is addicted to drama very much uses the death of anyone to their attention craving advantage. You may find them frequenting funeral homes to pay homage to people they barely know. It may be disconcerting to learn that they conduct drive bys at cemeteries just to view the internment. If they attended high school with the deceased over twenty years ago and have not seen them since they somehow feel compelled to pay their respects. They will make it a point to relive how close they used to be to this person to anyone that will listen. A person that constantly craves attention will interject themselves into another's most private moments with the mindset that they are being a good friend or a caring person. A close encounter with a drama queen may leave you speechless. You may be shocked to receive their phone call at your bedside a half hour after you awaken from a serious surgery. They crave your details and medical story as though they were reporting for TMZ even though you are not a celebrity. Your story becomes their story and they want to tell it first. A death or serious illness is like a magnet for the drama addict. Somehow they will attach themselves to tragedy however remotely to bask in attention and sympathy.

Scandalize and Super size Me

The best thing to happen to the drama addict is a scandal of any proportion. As long as that scandal happens in their ever widening close circle of family and friends they are on top of the world. Most people would like to keep a scandal under wraps. It isn't fun to have your dirty laundry aired in public. Not so for the drama queen. If their laundry isn't dirty enough they will roll anyone within reach around in the mud in order to stay in the spotlight. It is very difficult to remain friends with a drama queen. It takes a little time before you realize you cannot trust them with any intimate details of your life. Bits of your misfortune may begin to come back to you grossly "super sized" for the benefit of attention. People you barely know may have more information about your current events than you are comfortable with. What you need to remember is that no matter how many times you ask this person to keep your private life private they cannot stop themselves. The attention they crave is worth more to them than anyone's friendship. The drama addict has no real friends. They have coworkers and family but no close ties with any other people. The only people that are in their lives on a daily basis are the people that do not have a choice. A drama queen burns out friendship faster than a wild brush fire. They suck all the oxygen out of the air. All energy reserves and emotional bonds are depleted by their constant need for attention.

Cry Victim

Ultimately, the drama addict will cry victim when they are left behind by people that see through their crisis's as a means to an end. Because they can never be rescued enough and are often abandoned they perpetually see themselves as the victim. They quite often tell and retell their abandonment stories. Adding the new ones as they continue to lose people in their lives. Doctor's and therapists may eventually sever ties with a patient that never finds relief with any of the proven therapies for the medical problem at hand. As they find less people to whine to and commiserate with their sources of scandal dry up. The most tragic death of all in the life of a drama queen is the death of their audience. Without people to complain to or shoulders to cry on the drama addict suffers a type of withdrawal. Depression and anxiety inevitably follow as they find themselves more and more alone. The amount of time spent on generating attention rather than achieving true success in life leaves them lonely and afraid. Is there hope and help for attention addicts and drama queens? Absolutely, we all have the capacity to better ourselves. Addressing the root cause for the constant need for attention and sympathy is a good place to start. Building on achievements and successes in life is a healthier alternative to negative attention.